by B. B. Hamel
I couldn’t let that happen. If that kid was mine, I was going to have to figure something out. Fuck the Russians, and even fuck what Arturo and the other captains wanted. They were all a bunch of fucking cowards, Lucas excepted, but even he was going soft.
I couldn’t trust any of them, but I needed them for now. The girl was dangerous, very fucking dangerous, and she probably didn’t even realize it. This Chinese deal had everyone on edge as it was, and I didn’t need people making stupid fucking moves because some girl shows up with a baby.
I had to keep my head on my shoulders.
Fucking Kaley Kozlov. She gave me one of the best nights of my life with that perfect, soaked pussy of hers, and now she was giving me one of the worst mornings.
5
Kaley
After a few minutes, there was a knock at the door. I smiled down at Alex.
“They’re afraid to see you eating, little boy,” I whispered to him. I looked up at the door. “It’s safe,” I called out.
Rafa slowly opened the door. “You’re decent?”
I sighed. “Yes, Rafa, I’m decent. I was just breastfeeding. It’s not a big deal.”
He looked at me, frowning. “I know. It’s just . . .”
“Never seen women do it before?”
He shook his head.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty,” he said.
“You’re young.”
He shrugged and shut the door, heading over to his desk. “Young, sure. That doesn’t matter though.”
“How’d you get involved with the mob, if you don’t mind me asking?”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “Why do you care?”
“Just trying to make conversation.” He was clearly not going to make this incredibly uncomfortable situation any easier. I lifted Alex up and began to burp him.
“Just happened, I guess,” Rafa said. “Grew up in a fucking shit neighborhood. The only guys around worth anything were made men, you know? So I got into it.”
I nodded. I’d heard a version of that story again and again, over and over. It was the same with the Russians. Young guys saw the mobsters, their money and bling and all the crap, and wanted to get involved with the mob.
What they didn’t see was the dark side. The violence, the terror. I’d seen all of that and more living with my father my whole life. Some guys could stomach that sort of thing and some couldn’t. I guessed Rafa was the type that could if he had climbed so high in the ranks.
Then there was Vince, of course. Deadly, violence, terrifying. He was the sort of mobster I truly despised.
And yet he was the father of my child. Funny how life worked out sometimes, pushing you to places you never imagined you’d go.
“Is that really Vince’s kid?” Rafa asked.
“Yes, it is.”
“They’re going to make you do a paternity test.”
“Good,” I said. “Get this straightened out.”
He shook his head and laughed. “Vince with a kid.”
Alex let out a nice little burp. “Aw, there you go, my little prince,” I said.
Rafa laughed. “What the hell?”
“You have to burp them after they eat,” I said. “Otherwise they get all gassy and cry.”
“Huh,” he said, making a face. He clearly was grossed out and uninterested in Alexei, and I couldn’t blame him.
It was hard to love someone else’s baby but so easy to love your own.
“Where did Vince go?” I asked him.
“He went to talk to some guys. Just hang around here. He’ll be back.”
I sighed. “I know you guys think this is bullshit, but it’s the truth. Alex is Vince’s son, and my family is going to give him away if Vince can’t protect me.”
“Yeah,” Rafa said. “You told me that already.”
He looked away and began to do something on his computer, and I just sighed again. He’d clearly lost interest in me, and so I concentrated on rocking Alex. Hopefully he’d fall asleep after having eaten something.
Raising a baby was hard, especially in a household where nobody wanted him. My father was such a conservative asshole, so obsessed with the old ways and how things should be. The idea of keeping a baby around that had no father was abhorrent to him, completely wrong and immoral. He’d rather give Alex to some stranger than raise his own flesh and blood, all because his honor was offended.
He was stuck in the old world, living with the old rules. People got pregnant all the time by mistake. True, I’d never thought it would be me. I had never for a second thought I would have some stranger’s baby all because of one stupid mistake, but I couldn’t exactly take it back.
And part of me didn’t want to take it back. Alex was a lot of work, but he was so beautiful, so cute, and he smelled so good. He was my son, and I would do anything for him, including betraying my own family to seek help from the people they hated the most.
I wondered if Soph was okay. I was sure they were interrogating her right about now, and I hoped she was just cooperating. It didn’t matter if they knew where I was anymore now that I’d gotten away.
“Tell me something,” Rafa said after a few minutes.
“Sure.”
“What do you expect to get out of Vince?”
I cocked my head at him. “Nothing really. Protection for a little while, at least until my father decides that he isn’t going to tear Alex away from me.”
Rafa frowned at me. “You really think your old man is going to forgive you after this?”
I looked at him silently for a second.
And I realized that he was right.
I didn’t know what I expected to happen. All I knew was that I need someone to help me keep Alex safe, and Vince could do that. But I’d never really considered my long-term plans.
Rafa was right. My father was never going to forgive me for this. He was going to see it as an insult to the entire family, the whole organization.
I shook my head. “I don’t know, Rafa.”
“Seems to me that you didn’t think this one through too much.”
“They were going to take my son away,” I said. “I did what I had to do.”
“Yeah. You keep saying that.” He smiled at me. “Cute kid at least.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
“Enter,” Rafa called out.
Vince opened the door and stepped inside. My breath caught in my chest as soon as I saw him again.
He was as attractive as I remembered from that night, and every time I saw him it came rushing back to me. I had slept with him out of some stupid, rebellious spirit, anger at my family’s oppressive nature, but it was more than that.
I’d slept with him because I couldn’t stop myself. He was handsome, tall, strong, confident, and cocky. He was a piece-of-shit mobster, good for a single night of fun.
“Come on,” he said to me.
“Where are we going?”
“Seeing some doctors. We’re going to get that test started.”
I nodded. “Fine. Good.”
I stood up and followed Vince out of the room. Alex wriggled in my arms, clearly tired, and I wished I could put him down for a nap.
“I know,” I said to him. “I know. It’s an exciting day.”
Vince frowned at me but didn’t say anything.
We walked through the halls, and I couldn’t help but marvel at everything around me. The place was enormous and covered in wealth. Expensive paintings, gold gilding, statues and plants and chandeliers. There were even stained glass windows in beautiful mosaics. The whole place looked like what you imagined an incredibly rich person’s house would look like, but even more so.
Vince didn’t say a word as we moved through the halls. Eventually he stopped outside a door and looked at me.
His eyes were intense, piercing, and I took a step back from him.
“Tell me now,” he said, his voice a slow gr
owl. “Tell me the truth right now and we can just let you go. No harm done.”
“He’s your son,” I said quietly.
He stared at me for a second and then nodded once. “We’ll see.”
He pushed open the door and we went into what looked exactly like a doctor’s office.
“Mister Mori, Miss Kozlov,” the pretty young girl sitting behind the receptionist window said. “Head right back.”
Vince nodded to her and I smiled. We went through another door and a nurse met us there, smiling. “Right this way.” We followed her down a short hallway and she put us into a small exam room. “Sit,” she said. “This will only take a second.”
I glanced at Vince. If he was nervous, he wasn’t showing it. I watched as the nurse opened up some sort of package, taking out a few different things. There were cups and a few sticks with cotton at the end.
She turned to Vince. “You first,” she said. “Open up.”
He opened his mouth. The nurse stuck the swab in and rubbed it against his cheek. When she was done, she placed it inside a plastic envelope, grabbed another swab, and looked at me.
“Now the little one.”
I nodded. The nurse came close. “Oh so cute,” she said. “Don’t worry, little guy, this won’t hurt a bit. Just a little swab in your mouth. That’s all.”
The nurse very gently pressed the swab into Alex’s mouth. He clearly didn’t enjoy it, but fortunately he didn’t start crying yet. Alex was a really good baby, surprisingly not fussy at all. The nurse moved the swab around very gently and then pulled it out, bagged it, and smiled at us.
“That’s it,” she said.
“Seriously?” I asked. “That’s all?
“When will we get the results back?” Vince asked.
“Three days,” the nurse said.
Vince nodded and stood. “Thanks.”
I stood and followed him out. We went into the hallway and he headed back toward his office.
“Hold on,” I said.
He looked at me. “Got something to say?”
I clenched my jaw. “I need to use the bathroom.”
He sighed. “Fine.” I followed him a bit farther and he stopped outside two doors, each marked as restrooms. “Go ahead.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Can you hold Alex for a second?”
He stared at me and then nodded slowly. “Yeah. Sure.”
“Here.” I helped him take Alex and showed him how to hold him. “There. Easy, right?”
He frowned down at Alex. “Sure.”
I smiled and went into the bathroom.
My heart was pounding in my chest. I didn’t really need to use the bathroom, but I’d needed to get away from Vince for a second. I felt dizzy around him, both terrified and drawn toward him.
It felt weird knowing that Alexei’s father was holding him, but I was also glad. Alex needed a father, even if that father was a violent thug like Vince.
A cocky, asshole thug.
But first in my mind was the thought that I’d never see my family again. Rafa had terrified me, reminded me that my father was a vengeful and spiteful man.
Maybe I’d made a mistake. Maybe I shouldn’t have come here, should have done something else.
I looked at myself in the mirror and shook my head. No. It wasn’t worth thinking that way. I had to prove to Vince that Alex was his child, and hopefully he would protect us. Hopefully he wouldn’t let his only son get taken away by my family.
Or maybe he would. There was no way he wanted to be a father or was even close to being ready.
But things happened in this life and we had to deal with them. Vince didn’t seem like the type of man to run away.
I took a deep breath and steadied myself.
I had to get it together. I was in the heart of my enemy’s house, begging them for protection. Everything I did was dangerous.
I had to keep myself together for the sake of my son.
6
Vince
I looked down at the squirming baby and made a face.
“You look like an alien,” I said.
It blinked back up at me. It had striking blue eyes, just like its mother.
I sighed. The baby was a he, and his name was Alexei. And apparently it was my son.
Maybe he looked like me a little bit. We shared some features, but it was hard to tell. He was just so small and young.
As I stood there waiting for Kaley to finish in the bathroom, I looked down at Alex. I felt something in that moment. I had never held a baby before in my life, and I’d never wanted to.
Babies were a distraction. They sucked away all your time and your money and your freedom. They were a ball and chain, an anchor keeping you in place. I didn’t want to be held down. I wanted to rage through the city, taking what I fucking wanted. Instead, I was standing in a hallway holding some strange baby, wondering if it was really my son.
“You’re actually a little cute,” I said softly, hoping nobody heard me.
He looked back up at me.
And then he started to scream.
“Shit,” I said. “Kaley,” I called out loudly.
She pushed open the door. “It’s okay,” she said. “He cries sometimes.”
She took him from me and I frowned. That was a horrible noise he was making, absolutely blood-curdling.
“It’s okay,” she said, rocking Alex. “Mama’s got you. It’s okay.”
Slowly the baby calmed down.
“Come on,” I grunted at her.
She followed me silently back to the office.
Crying babies. I’d never thought in my entire life that I’d be holding a damn crying brat. One second it was fine, just a warm bundle of squirming baby, and the next it was howling like a demon.
Damn thing sure could scream.
Kaley sat back down at the table and Rafa looked at us.
“That was fast,” he said.
“They just swab your mouth,” I answered. “Nothing to it.”
“What now?” Kaley asked. “They said we won’t have the results for another three days.”
“Shit,” Rafa said. “Three days?”
“It’s fine,” I said. “We’ll figure it out.”
As I sat down at my desk, there was a knock at the door. I sighed and got back up, walking over to the door. I pulled it open and Lucas grinned in at me.
“Sup, daddy?” he said.
“Fuck you.”
He laughed. “Let me see her.”
I moved aside and Lucas stepped into the room. He smiled down at Kaley.
“So, you’re the trouble,” he said to her.
“I’m Kaley Kozlov.”
“Lucas Barone.”
She blinked. “The Lucas Barone?”
He smirked and I sighed. Lucas was famous in the city just because he was the son of Arturo. It could be obnoxious sometimes.
“The one and only,” he said. “And this is Vince’s son?” He moved over and looked at the baby. “He’s really cute.”
“Thanks,” Kaley said.
“Can I?”
Kaley looked surprised. “Sure.”
She handed Alex over to Lucas, and he held the kid like it was nothing.
“Hello there, little guy,” he said. “What’s his name?” he asked me.
“Alexei,” I said.
“Russian.” Lucas frowned.
“Yes, Russian,” Kaley said. “Remember where he comes from.”
I looked at her. “We won’t forget.”
She stared back at me, defiant and fucking beautiful. Without the kid in her arms, I was reminded of exactly why I’d took her home that night.
“I have kids myself, you know,” Lucas said.
“Really?” Kaley asked.
“Sure. Two boys.”
“What are their names?”
“Stokes and Cooper.”
“Wow. Cool names.”
He laughed. “My wife picked them out. I would have chosen something simpler.�
�� He handed the kid back to Kaley and looked at me. “Come on. The boss wants to speak with you.”
“Is it about me?” Kaley asked.
“Yes,” Lucas said, “it is.”
“Let me meet with him.”
“No,” I said quickly. “Stay here. I’ll be back.”
She frowned but didn’t say anything. Lucas looked at her for a second and then we left the room together, heading toward Arturo’s office.
“Interesting girl,” Lucas commented.
“Yeah,” I said. “Strong willed.”
“That’s one way of putting it.”
We walked in silence until we reached Arturo’s office. Lucas knocked and then pushed the door open.
The office was as richly furnished as any other place in the house. Arturo himself was sitting behind his big wooden desk, and he gestured at the chairs for us to sit. We walked in, but Lucas stayed standing while I sat down.
“Vincent,” Arturo said. “I heard something happened today.”
Arturo had been the boss of the Barone crime family for most of his life. He was a legend in the city since he’d taken the family from a minor crime group to one of the biggest mobs in the whole country. Arturo was well respected and powerful, although he was getting up there in years.
“Yes,” I said. “Her name is Kaley Kozlov, daughter of Anatoli Kozlov, the Russian boss.”
“And she says her son is yours.”
I nodded. “That’s her story.”
“Is he?”
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “He could be.”
Arturo sighed. “You stuck your dick in some Russian whore, and now you have a son.”
I cringed at the way he said that. Kaley wasn’t a whore, so far as I knew. But you didn’t correct Arturo Barone, not if you were smart.
“Yes, sir.”
“Why is she here?”
“She believes her family is going to take her son away from her because he is an embarrassment to them. She’s here looking for my protection.”
Arturo nodded. “I see. And are you going to offer that protection?”
I blinked, surprised. “I assumed you’d be making that decision, sir,” I said.